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Crimson Dawn: Aerodynamic Entry!
TF2 - Monday, February 10, 2014, 7:15 PM ---------------------------------------- Crystal City, a city of insurrectionists and terrorists...and Decepticons, so why are the Autobots trying to liberate it? Because of the resistance that cries out in defiance against oppression, because its what is needed.....and we won't go into why the Autobots still have Tarn then, because semantics. The skies of Crystal City are protected. The streets of Crystal City are patrolled. Which leaves the Crystal Sentinels underground, and currently...the Autobots in low orbit. Soundwave is doing his whole 'Big Brother' thing, which means he's in tape player mode at a control node of his entire network of sound reflectors in the city. While mostly used to keep a listen on anyone in the city, he does still have radar functions. A strange ping fades in and out up in low orbit. He fiddles with his radar systems trying to locate the oddity, but after a few moments of interference, he goes to a different tactic. "BLAST OFF. IRREGULARITY PRESENTED IN CRYSTAL CITY LOW ORBIT, TAKE A TEAM AND INVESTIGATE IMMEDIATELY." Ahh delegation, the easy button of the Decepticon Military.... Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> ...is in his element, approaching the stratophere as per Soundwave's orders. The Autobots may be WAY out of their element, but the Combaticon space shuttle is right where he belongs. Of course, even HE has trouble dealing with suborbital entry sometimes- a flaw he'd be LOATHE to ever admit. It's humiliating, mortifying... and usually, at times like this, it grates his gears. But today... somehow.... he just can't really bother to get too worked up about it. In fact, lately he's been having trouble getting too worked up about *anything*. Why? Well, you can thank Harrow making him take one of her experimental pills for that. She said the only side effect would a bad case of hiccups.... she was wrong. He radios the other Cons, sounding rather... calm. <<'Soundwave', we are approaching the coordinates you gave. I will inform you once we have reached visual range of our target. >> He flies along, then adds almost as an aside, <> Then there's a small <<*HIC*! ....Oh. Excuse me!>> While Crystal City was primarily Soundwave's brainchild to dominate over, that did not mean that other Decepticons had not taken interests in it as well. Honestly, as much as Razorclaw empathized with the hordes of Darkreach and their desire to hunt the Markons into extinction, that was merely a sandbox squabble in the larger picture of the war. Compared to Crystal City having become a political and economical stronghold. It was just a matter of waiting. A wait which was over. The Predacon Commander turned away from the soldiers he was directing to continue searching for Sentinel hideaways, casting his stoic gaze upward for a few moments at Soundwave's communique. It was not out of the realm of possibility. Coming from above was about the only means of entering the city the Autobots and their rebel sidekicks had not tried yet. "Keep up this hunt," he orders without even looking back, "I have other matters to attend to." <> And then the Predacon sprints off, jumping from the low rooftop they had been scanning upon. Only to twist in midair to hit the side of the next building in lion mode, powerful legs compacting just long enough to build up power, and wait for it... there! Legs thrust, hurtling the line across the skyline to the side of another skyscraper, which he runs up several meters of the wall thanks to his namesake claws before leaping off again. Right as Blast Off speeds past on his way upward, rolling into the Combaticon's interior. "Okay, you can close the hatch now." Razorclaw lunges forward to land as a massive, mightly lion. Let the hunt begin! Blurr is aboard the small Autobot stealth vessel The Centralus along with a small team for this particular operation. The objective itself is really a one-mech job, but they're here because Soundwave is bound to notice, and the speedster needs someone to keep the Comms Officer and whoever else happens along plenty occupied while he puts in Blaster's mixtape. If all goes well, the jamming device will use the drone ship's comms array to broadcast a false transmission to all other drones in the area. The transmission would emulate CST's frequencies but scramble any incoming navigation signals, causing interference and confusing the drone's programmed directives. The courier himself is at the ship's navigation controls for now, and he as the targeted drone shipment appears on the short-range sensors, he starts to push the sublights as far as they can go. It's not long before the vessel has caught up to the drone, and he begins to position his ship in the air just above it. Bank left just a little...right...a little bit slower...there! He opens up an internal comm. "Alright team, we're in position. Opening the cargo bay now." There's a mechanical hum as the doors groan open. Setting the vessel on a course back to Iacon after about two breems have passed to give them plenty of time to jump, he leaves the controls with 'mixtape' in hand and heads for the doors himself, grabbing a glider parachute. Arcee has her 'chute in place and ready to deploy. This is...a bit different from the missions she's been on in recent cycles. Even so, she's up for the challenge, gripping a railing as the doors she's standing near open so she doesn't prematurely fall out. She goes when everyone goes, and not a moment sooner. "GERONIMOBOT!" Bumblebee can hardly wait for the doors to open and the moment they do, he's leaping out, his gliderchute already attached to himself and enjoying the everything out of the immediate rush of the freefall action that comes with leaping out of a flying contraption without a care in the world. He's ready for some action and has been since they took off on this mission in the first place. FWOOSH! Solstice is having a bit of a fight with her chute, working the straps around to get doors out just right, not block the rockets and in general settled in a safe position yet non-constricting or impeding any bits. There had been a series of grumbles, hrmphs and general sounds before she snaps the final bit of strap in place, tugging on it then shifting doors around behind her. As the 'ready' is given, her head snaps up, optics brighten with apparent delight. Somethng about jumping out of an aircraft.. appeals to her. The hovercar quickly unfolds upward and outward to reveal the fastest terrestrial Cybertronian in the galaxy, Blurr! Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Soundwave transforms into his root form, as Big Bad Blue. He looks up to the sky after getting Blast Off's initial report. <> He couldn't have the flak cannons take out their own logistical supplies, after all. The Bots were playing it clever, using hard-to-hit tactics. The Tape Commander takes to the skies, while a great deal slower than Blast Off, he moves up to start on his path to intercept the Autobot forces. Perhaps one of his many nemesies could be introduced to hot flaming death.... The day was looking up. Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> gets in closer to the Autobots and the drone shipment. A very calm, relaxed voice comes over his com systems, <> As the shuttle approaches the object of their pursuit, he notes who is there and that they seem to be trying to alter the drone shipment somehow. That's not good, is it? He comes in, opening his cargo bay door for Razorclaw to depart, and notes Blurr in particular, of course. Oh yes, Blurr. He ought to be very upset and irate at the sight of the speedster, shouldn't he? Yes, he supposes he *ought* to. The shuttle almost lazily arcs around the 'Bots. "My. You Autobots are a long way from the ground. Far from your comfort zone. I'm... almost impressed." He sounds strangely sincere. Also, he called them Autobots, not Autofools. The shuttle just keeps circling around, and seems almost content to do that for awhile- until he receives an order from Soundwave to kill them. "Oh. Well... orders are orders, I suppose." He aims a side laser at Blurr, but seems somehow... not really engaged here. Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> misses Blurr with his Happy Circles (Laser) attack! -1 Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> watches stoicly out the viewport as Blast Off is closing in on what Soundwave detected. Looks like his initial educated guess was not far off, save it being a shipment drone they were going for rather than the city itself. Interesting. Impractical but daring. No sign of that insufferable Sky Lynx though, the autobots must be going small and subtle. "Your interior deck will have to wait, though I do apologize. However expedient action was required, coming around to 'pick me up' would of delayed our deployment more than allowable." With that Razorclaw is climbing back outside the shuttle, though thankfully in robot mode. Thankful for Blast Off, at least. His hands may be clawed but they're not nearly as sharp to dig into the Combaticon's exterior as he crouchs a bit to brace himself. Shoulder blasters click up into place, click again as they cycle munitions, and then open fire. Only two shells, but rather than being aimed at any one Autobot the shots detonate mid-air, the sudden concussion blast an attempt to batter the Autobots away from the drone ship. Razorclaw rises up into his formidable robot mode. The Autobot forces start descending planetward amid the high clouds and wind of Cybertron's orbit itself. The area they had picked was not coincidentally a skyway used by several supply systems, including CST. As they descend, several other transports of various kinds whoosh by around them, not only obstacles in their path, but possible places to land if needed. However this XTREME tactic has its downside as the forces engaged here start to heat up and find themselves harder to make sudden movements as they feel the pain of reentry. Combat: Razorclaw strikes Blurr with his Airburst Deterrent Tactic Area attack! -3 Combat: Razorclaw strikes Arcee with his Airburst Deterrent Tactic Area attack! -3 As the Autobots quickly descend from the transport, Arcee immediately feels the gravitational pull bringing her down rapidly, and she feels...extremely vulnerable plummeting like this. Not only that, but she soon feels the sting of shots piercing through her armor. So many distractions out here! And she felt like a...what did Daniel call it? Ah yes, a 'sitting duck'. She pulls out one pistol, aiming in Razorclaw's direction, but the targeting is tricky at best. Combat: Arcee strikes Razorclaw with her Laser attack! Combat: Elita One strikes Blurr with Atmosphere's The Woes of Re-entry attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Blurr's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: That attack has slowed Blurr, making him less efficient. Combat: Elita One strikes Solstice with Atmosphere's The Woes of Re-entry attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Solstice's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: That attack has slowed Solstice, making her less efficient. Combat: Elita One strikes Arcee with Atmosphere's The Woes of Re-entry attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Arcee's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: That attack has slowed Arcee, making her less efficient. Blurr jumps first, the glider deploying immediately, flaring out behind him like a pair of bat-shaped wings. He shifts his weight, aiming for the drone shuttle just below. Hah, when are the Decepticons going to-- Ah. There they are. And guess who should be with them? Blast Off, or should he say, 'Streamline'? Heheh. He smirks at the Combaticon, who seems to be acting rather strange. What did he do? Get high on circuit speeders? Haha! Probably. After all that torture he had to have something as an escape, right? Razorclaw's midair explosions manage to damage Blurr's glider a bit though, and it wobbles. But he's already close enough to the targeted drone, so he simply retracts the glider and falls the rest of the way, causing himself to take a bit of a bad landing on the top of that drone shuttle, but it's of little consequence. He's going to need that glider later, when the extraction team comes. <'ve reached the target. Keep the Decepticons occupied.>> Upon landing, he aims a few haphazard shots upward at the Cons to try to hamper their effortsa bit before crouching down to search for a panel on the side. He flattens his body against the top of the thing, his head hanging over the side. If the specs provided by the Sentinels are correct, the receiver and comms array should be somewhere here... Combat: Blurr misses Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> with his Quickdraw Area attack! -1 Combat: Blurr strikes Razorclaw with his Quickdraw Area attack! -1 The orange Autobot femme has a grip on one of the straps with one hand, a pistol in the other. And perhaps, yes.. yes that is a 'WOOO!' as she lept out of the shuttle. Yeah, someone's actually not as nervous as she perhaps should be. Solstice twists in the webbing, kicking with a foot as shots fling past to try and adjust the angle, "We have company!" As if that wasn't obvious which is swiftly followed by 'ow ow ow ow!' as the thinner metal of her doors heats up, deforming slightly. "Sonova...." The pistol is brought up, grabbed with both hands as she kicks legs aiming towards the shuttle. "Makin' a distraction!" The Koenigsegg splits, unfolds and reshapes upwards into Solstice. Combat: Solstice misses Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> with her Pot Shot (Laser) attack! Combat: Elita One strikes Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> with Atmosphere's The Woes of Re-entry Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'>'s Agility. (Crippled) Combat: That attack has slowed Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'>, making him less efficient. Combat: Elita One strikes Razorclaw with Atmosphere's The Woes of Re-entry Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Razorclaw's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: That attack has slowed Razorclaw, making him less efficient. Combat: Elita One strikes Soundwave with Atmosphere's The Woes of Re-entry Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Soundwave's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: That attack has slowed Soundwave, making him less efficient. Multiple shots create hit sparks against his armor as Razorclaw partially stands, leaving their mark but doing little to deter the Predacon commander. Black and orange armor starts to glow a bit from the heat, a reminder of the environment they are fighting in. "Continue engagement," is all he has to say to the Combaticon as despite it he pulls his sword from subspace, gripping in it both hands as he runs the length of the shuttle even as Blast Off maneuvers through the attacks. Then leaps off, using the momentum and a bit of anti-grav thrust to launch himself towards the drone ship. The atmospheric friction continues to lend a subtle shimmery glow from heat around him even as his feet hit the transport's hull. More importantly to Blurr though is his sword slashing across as he does so, it's blade humming from vibration even in the thinner upper atmosphere. "Your actions shall not come without a heavy cost this even, Autobot!" Combat: Razorclaw sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Razorclaw strikes Blurr with his Sonic Sword attack! -1 <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "Ugh, get Razorclaw off of me." Soundwave reaches the upper atmosphere in time to witness the fight break out, as well as suffer some of the high altitude issues, his armor glowing as he ascends. When the scene next cuts back to Soundwave, he's colored in purple. Two transports, better equipped with heat shields rumble past him, leaving fire and air in their wake. He observes. There was a plan here, a course of action the Bots must be taking. His optical band narrows, and yet he can't track everything just yet, not with all this interference. He notes Razorclaw and Blurr at work already, the Hunter was going to have himself an interesting chase there. Instead he turns his attention elsewhere, perhaps in some sort of strange coincidence, the evil genius focuses himself on a pink Femme to target. He starts finetuning his sensors to start combat prediction of Arcee's motions. Combat: Soundwave strikes Arcee with his Electronic Analysis attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Arcee's Agility! (Crippled) <'Autobot'> Solstice says, "Right." Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> , despite Razorclaw being relatively "gentle", can certainly feel the other Con's claws prickling his surface. The Combaticon is an ultra-sensitive glass cannon, after all. Normally this would have the shuttle in a tizzy of protest and about ready to roll around in the sky to dislodge the Predacon. And THEN he'd get huffy! But now? Not a word. The shuttle continues flying along and even notes, "Ah, good shooting, Razorclaw!" He then adds oh-so-helpfully, "You know, Blurr is actually kind of hard to hit." In the meantime, Blurr returns fire, but while Blast Off is rather... "off" today, his agility is still "on", and he dodges out of the way. "Oh dear... no, can't have that, I'm afraid. I need those heat shields." Speaking of which, a pocket of turbulance suddenly hits just as Solstice fires at him as well. The shuttle is buffeted by the turbulance but manages to evade the Autobot's attack as well. However, the strain causes some damage to those heat shields after all. "Ow." He notes Razorclaw going after Blurr and Soundwave targeting Arcee, so.... that leaves return fire to Solstice, then? Alright, if it's needed. He aims a side laser at her too. "Hmm. Aren't you the one who doesn't like her finish messed up? Or is that someone else? Anyway, so sorry, I *can* empathise, truly. But I have a job to do. ... I suppose." Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes Solstice with his Hope that doesn't mess up your finish TOO much (Laser) attack! -1 Blurr had been busy attaching Blaster's jamming device to the comms array when Razorclaw's blade suddenly slashes across his back. <> He grumbles into the comms. Thankfully though, he's already activated it, and it won't be long before the signal is broadcast to all the other shuttles. Soon enough, CST will be having a problem with a massive number of their Crystal City shipments suddenly veering off course and potentially crashing into their own client's equipment. Blurr slides the panel shut and suddenly jumps off of the drone, landing on another transport that happens to be passing by. This one is quite large, probably a fuel barge or something. As for that drone he just left, it starts to wobble and veer off course and out of control. Razorclaw will have to hold on tight to stay on it, though perhaps he won't want to do that for very much longer... The Global Pose Tracker marks that Blurr has 'skipped' his action for this round. Arcee steers the glider toward the transport, and she's so concentrated on what's going on, she doesn't really notice Soundwave's meddling shenanigans. (She'll very likely notice once she notices she's having some serious targeting problems. She reaches the transport, and since she has 'drift' and gravity working in her favor, instead of shooting at Razorclaw, she attempts to land 'into' him, feet-first. Maybe that will be enough to divert him off of Blurr, maybe not. Worth a try, however. Combat: Arcee strikes Razorclaw with her Kick attack! Solstice ugs as the glider bit combined with the slowly thickening atmosphere combine to jerk her aim. Either that or that shuttles got mad moves.. Well, it is a shuttle. She twists in the webbing, makes a face and triggers her own anti-grav, letting it cycle up to attempt to get a bit more mobility, the falling like a rock schtick she's over. A message comes across, "Right." Which is swiftly followed by shots from her target searing into and across her frame. "!! My.. ooooohhhh. I'll come back for you, fragger." The orange femme reaches up to jerk at a glider control, shifting weight, rotating doors back with a few creaks and down. The glider creaks as *ponk* feet make contact with an errant craft and she takes a few running steps before leaping back up and off, firing with both pistols out towards Razorclaw. "Here KITTY KITTY!" Combat: Solstice strikes Razorclaw with her Pistol-Crack (Pistol) attack! Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> circles around some more, still in an oddly noncommital state. He spots Blurr land upon the large transport, so he transforms and lands on it as well. ...And just stands there, arms crossed, shaking his head. "Well. I must say I'm impressed, Blurr." And he doesn't sound sarcastic when he says that, either. Though his optic ridges furrow a little and he looks over at Razorclaw. "Well... not particularly impressed by your dodging ability today... I usually expect better from you, but perhaps Razorclaw is just that good?" This idea of being shown up by the other Con's shooting ability today doesn't seem to bother him at all. Then he looks back to the speedster. "But to be a groundpounder and have the struts to come up this high in the stratosphere to engage in feats of daring-do on a platform high in the sky... it's almost something like that.... oh, what was it? Star Trek movie?" He looks off in the distance, trying to remember if that was right, then looks back to Blurr. Somehow... he forgets to FIRE at Blurr, though. Yeah, the Combaticon is definitely NOT himself right now. "Yes, I /think/ that was it. But... it's a long way to fall. Hmmm." He looks over the edge. But seems to be merely observing that as a fact, not gloating in it. Both sides descend, in their own various and myriad of ways, Razorclaw engages in some pretty darn good melee despite the conditions, and Blast Off...is now logged to need petrocyatric help after the battle ends. Perhaps Harrow'd have some viewpoints on his behavior. Must be due to that Streamline neutral. Regardless, Soundwave ends up in pursuit of the Autobot forces, the situation is hectic, chaotic even, as he dodges another three drones carrying tanks of...something. He raises his concussion blaster in one hand, almost straight atop Solstice's position, then cracks off several shots at her. One of the off-duty transport Cons gets struck in the display of firepower. Meh. Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Combat: Soundwave strikes Solstice with his Concussion Blaster attack! -4 Combat: Blast Off takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Even as he pulls his weapon back from the strike Razorclaw mentally notes that this rapidly downward moving surface is not an entirely favorable position to be in. The drone shuttle is starting to wobble downward and he's got to spread back one leg farther than he would like to try and keep stable. None the less he brings his sword back up in front of him, starting to turn to leap after Blurr once more. But before he can do so Arcee plants a pink heel on the side of his head, and despite having size and bulk on the femme his unstable footing on the downward tilting craft betrays his balance. Even as he's tumbling backwards several pistol blasts slam into him, throwing him off the drone transport. And slamming into the front of some neutral delivery shuttle. The work-mech starts bitching, only to be brought short by Razorclaw slamming a fist against said front. "This shuttle is being commandeered in the name of Decepticon Security. If you value your life and your profit you'll fly back to that transport." At least he's formal about it. ... That's a very effective threat though, maybe more at having his cargo confenscated than the threat at his life. Either way, the transporter puts on some extra thrust, and just hopes getting close won't get him fired on. As it closes in Razorclaw gets partially up, using one hand to brace himself atop the transporter and with the other arm swings again, this time trying to clobber the Pink Wonder with the broadside of his sword and send her for an unpleasant trip. Combat: Razorclaw strikes Arcee with his Fly Me Closer So I Can Hit It With My Sword! attack! -3 <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "Arcee, get off of the drone!" Wow, Blast Off is sure acting like an idiot. Blurr is trying not to laugh out loud. Actually, he isn't actually trying. Why should he? He just cracks up at the Combaticon's nonchalant demeanor. "Oh Blast Off..." he shakes his head. He really took all that hard, didn't he? "Something the matter? I mean, you sound like you just shot a bunch of circuit speedsters directly into your neural circuits." he shrugs. "Thanks for the compliment, though! Really appreciate it..." As he says this, he's transforming down into his hovercraft form, and he suddenly speeds off in the other direction, away from Blast Off and toward the edge of the transport. In a flurry of moving parts, Blurr folds down into a pale blue-colored supersonic hovercar. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Arcee grins as Razorclaw gets a BOOT to the head! HER boot, to be exact. Only -- whoops, that transport was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's in the midst of pondering how she can help the poor mechs in the delivery transport, only to get smashed hard in the head and shoulderplate with that sword...which sends her plummeting down onto another CST transport. Somewhat dazed from the hit, she clings to the roof and...somewhere in the back of her mind wonders if Blast Off was under the influence of some strong, STRONG energex. But for now she's just trying to get her bearings back. Combat: Arcee takes extra time to steady herself. Pass <'Autobot'> Arcee says, "What?? You wanted him off of you. It worked, right??" Over the Bot comms, a voice picks up. <> <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "Yeah, thanks!" Solstice drops past where Razorclaw is in her line of sight, not certain that the shots connected but more concerned with getting a toehold on.. Yeah, that'll do. She angles for a flathead hauling something slightly oblong, a semi-curved topside good enough for this femme to land on. Peds make contact and she starts another run, only to see... "AHH!!! BIG!! BLUE!! CREEPY!!!!" And her windshield cracks, the hood underneath displaying a crack as well where her twist slightly mitigated a direct hit. She skids back several meters, teetering on the edge of her current perch and fights against being sucked off due to glider span. Slight flail of an arm, rocket launcher pivots, clicks and fires at Soundwave as she drops off the transport. "Yerk!" <'Autobot'> Solstice yelps, "Ahh! Big! Blue! Creepy!" Combat: Solstice strikes Soundwave with her Excita-rocket picked you! attack! -2 Blast Off doesn't even really care about being called an "idiot", which ought to REALLY be grinding his gears about now. He responds to Blurr's thanks with a soft, "No problem." At the mention of circuit speeders he just shakes his head and makes a small "negatory" waving motion. "No, no, no circuit speeders. Haven't had those." He adds quietly. "...At least not for awhile." Then he pinches his nose right between the optics, like trying to clear his head slightly. Did he just say that? ...."No... did have some very fine vintages of enerwine recently. You know, I /really/ must remember to pay my compliments to that vintner at some point....*HIC* Oh. Excuse me." But as Blurr races off again, it does suddenly trigger an attack response in the Combaticon. You know, like those "prey drives" triggered by running from a predator or something. Not that he feels very *driven* right now. But he does finally remember to bring out his ionic blaster and take a shot at the receding figure. "Oh... yes, sorry, forgetting my duties here, aren't I? ...*HIC*. Oh. Excuse me." The transporter is all too glad when obeying like a good cowed neutral is enough and Razorclaw leaps off of him. Immeadiately he puts on the afterburn and gets the hell out of the fight zone. He'd rather get caught by some security patrol for violating airspeed limits than caught up in this farther. There's a thud and rattle through the transport that Arcee might feel as the bulk of the Predacon lion lands on it. He's got better tracking in this mode, and has little trouble adjusting to unbridle the sudden ferocious action he's known to have with it came time to act instead of plot. As he bolts at the femme a mighty large paw comes down to strike at her, not with claws, but to knock her down and pin her beneath his superior size and strength. Autobots always come to help their fellows, after all. Trap one and prehaps another will come to their doom stupidly trying to play hero. Razorclaw lunges forward to land as a massive, mightly lion. Let the hunt begin! Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Neutral. Soundwave slams onto the top of the transport Solstice sought purchase on. His impact sends trembles through the craft, causing it to dip dramatically. In truth, Soundwave didn't have any gender bias towards who he felt like punching, but, he speculated, there are those Autobots who rather enjoy playing hero.... He skulks towards Solstice, every motion of his frame displaying the telltale signs of a beatdown, all garnered after hours of processing video footage of a rather uppity and thuggish Con...named Beatdown. "YOU WILL NOT LEAVE HERE ALIVE. YOUR ESCAPE TRANSPORT IS BEING SHOT DOWN AS YOU DELAY. YOU WILL NOT LEAVE OUR AIRSPACE." He takes a few steps forwards towards Solstice, whom promptly escapes. He pursues. Razorclaw might actually be proud as the Tape Commander takes an aggressive chase of Solstice. As she drops down, he catches up to her in flight. ***CRACK*** A sound overhand hammer blow sends her down further, calcuated trajectory just so...so she'll land on another transport. He pursues, slamming onto the next transport, then grabbing Solstice, hauling her up to her feet, still in his grasp. He holds the Autobot by a shoulder, then rears back for another punishing haymaker. ~~Come on out little Autobot...play the hero....~~ Combat: Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> strikes Arcee with his Making this damsel quite distressed (Grab) attack! Combat: Soundwave sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Soundwave strikes Solstice with his Tape Commander Smackdown attack! Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> expertly evades Blast Off's attack! Combat: Blast Off misses Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> with his Please do pardon me need to shoot you and all that. attack! -2 Combat: Your COMBAT flag has been cleared. Once she gets her bearings, Arcee is about to get up, but she ends up pinned against the transport by a very heavy paw. (Oh, fragging frack,) she thinks worriedly. This isn't good. "Come on, you've got better things to do, right??" she says, trying to pistol-whip the Predacon with her weapon, because she's not exactly in a position to aim it very well. Combat: Arcee strikes Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> with her Smash attack! Blurr receives an incoming comm message. The extraction team is en route. <> He ignores Blast Off and drives off of the edge of the transport, landing on yet another one that is closer to the designated extraction area. <> Indeed, many of the other CST shipments are now beginning to fly off course, either spinning out of control and falling toward the buildings below (hopefully ones with reflectors on them too) or simply starting to fly off in random directions away from the city until their fuel reservoirs are depleted. Including the one Razorclaw and Arcee are on. It rocks violently, especially under their additional weight, and begins to plummet! Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> takes extra time to steady himself. Pass <'Autobot'> Arcee says, "Might be a little late to that rendezvous, copy that~" Solstice's fall backwards seemed opportune as the rocket got off with that delightful pop-flash they have. "Boo-yah." Optics bright with a merriment and glee as despite the damage, she's doing primes' own work here and she's not at all conflicted. Mental clarity achieved.. For about 2 seconds. As thats about the time big, blue and creepy catches up with her. "Sonova...." Triggering her own anti-grav to try and evade, the additional pull of the glider acts to slow her down. "You're not th' only one that can fl-ERK!" ***CRACK*** Big blue has big hands, and one of those fists slams into the gilded orange femme out of seeming nowhere. The glider isn't helping, actually aiding in forcing her to slam into the top of another transport. A shake of her head, she blinks, jerking at the release on the glider just as.. Big blue's hands snatch her off of her feet, gripping her by the shoulder. She stares into that weirdly expressionless face, her own optics widening slightly. She struggles, doors wiggle, flex and then her face hurts. a lot. Her head's rocked back and she limpens, brief flash of dazed expression, optics fading. A chuff-whiff of air through her manifold then a click-whirr, as she struggles to bring arms up, pistols in hands despite her dangling by a shoulder, "GNNK!" Both weapons click-fire in conjunction, beams crossing to twist into a flare of some sort that brightens the area. "I don't remember asking' you t' dance! No *means* NO!" Combat: Solstice sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Solstice strikes Soundwave with her Plasmic Solar Flare attack! Blast Off watches Blurr race off and.... just stands there watching him go. Then seems to get lost in watching the scenery go by. You know, it's still a pretty nice view up here. Not as good as up further, but really... it's quite a shame everyone doesn't just stop and take some time to admire the view. You know, stop and smell the petro-roses? They could always kill each other later. He *HICS* again, which is strong enough to shake his frame and cause him to stumble back a step, then places a hand upon his chest. That's... almost getting annoying. Well, almost. He *really* is going to have to see Harrow about this little *side effect* of hers. Hmmm. The Combaticon walks up to the edge of the transport. Arcee and Solstice are... rather busy right now, and it would be rude to just gang up on them, after all. He wouldn't want to do *that*. So he takes aim at Blurr again. Unfortunately, just as he fires, another frame-shaking *HIC* strikes, and it's quite possible that shot goes wild. If he was actually feeling like his usual prideful sniper self, he'd be *mortified*. Combat: Blast Off's HIC! attack on Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> goes wild! Combat: Blast Off strikes himself with his HIC! attack! -2 Once he's got the femme under his paw Razorclaw leans in close enough for her to be able to see the glint of light off his fangs as he speaks. They're not quite as infamously sharp as his namesake claws, but certainly not pleasant looking in their own right. "I don't know what you Autobots are planning, but I intend to make it cost you oh so dearly." Despite his composed, almost sophisticated tone there is an obvious underlying malice in his voice as he raises the other paw and extends his claws... Which proves to be a mistake when instead of cowering in fearing for a big manly mech to come to her rescue Arcee slams him upside the head with the butt of her gun. "Grwar!" The sudden juking of the transport doesn't help any and he topples off of her when it leers to that side. Metal screechs as Razorclaw digs his claws into the jilted transport instead of his intended victim to keep from sliding off the edge of it, long enough to get his back legs on the side. Once he's got that he can let go with the front claws, twist in a surprisingly flexible manner for his blocky build as he kicks off, and flip over to grab onto a different ship. And then both of his shoulder guns click down to point at the one he just jumped off of. "I see I'm going to have to make greater sacrifices." Both blaster fire their explosive blasts into the side of the transport in what will probably be a crippling blow, but worth it if the explosion brutalizes the femme as well. By the look of it the drone ships are having navigating issues anyways. Combat: Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> strikes Arcee with his Collateral Damages Acceptable Losses Same Tactical Difference attack! A FEW MOMENTS AGO: Soundwave is blasted by a rocket, causing him to stagger backwards. He then pursues Solstice. NOW: Soundwave reels from the highly damaging energy blast, his insides sparking, the big mech actually shot back across the transport. He might've had a chance to fall off if it weren't for his innate flight ability. The Tape Commander returns to his feet with malice in his eyes. His hands clench. Light shines off of his optical band as he regauges Solstice. Blurr wasn't coming to her aid, but right now Soundwave apparently had his own hands full. "A POWERFUL HIT....YOU HOWEVER...INTENTIONALLY MISSED VITALS." This may or may not be true. "I DO NOT SHARE YOUR HESITATION." Again he crosses the distance. RIGHT CROSS! His fist drills into Solstice's head, BODY BLOW! He doubles her over with a powerful gut shot, his limbs sparking from damage as he does. He capitalizes again, grabbing at Solstice, moves to heft her over his head....and channels Weirdwolf, dropping down to one knee, to deliver a powerful SERVOBREAKER to Solstice's back! If successful, he lets her go right there, to tumble into the rapidly approaching streets below..... Combat: Soundwave strikes Solstice with his Tape Commander Smackdown attack! Meanwhile, a group of peon-level Decepticons on a building nearby look up to the battle, "Huh...weird seeing combat so close." One looks to the other, "You really think we needed solar mirrors up here, Schelp?" The other whirrs the solar mirror panel around. "Wait, what're you doing?" "Oh noting big there, Pallet, I'm just getting a closer look!" "Well be car...." A laser blast whiffs past them, reflects off the mirror and then back into the fray. The two minions stand there. "Huh...well I hope we don't get any repercussions for THAT one." He looks over his shoulder. Pallet has already left the roof. "Aw slag..." The Autobot transport circles the extraction altitude once, already sporting several plasma holes, and being dogged by the local airforce. The Redshirt Seeker patrol open fire, hitting less than nothing somehow. Barnstormer opens up the side bay door. ""Bipolar! Get em in here already!" The mech that is in no way Magnet Man aims a strange magnetic device out towards the Autobot forces. ""Traction Beam activated, they just need to activate their polarus charges on their backpacks, and I'll be reeling em in!" Combat: Arcee sets her defense level to Aggressive. Arcee is stunned when she manages to knock Razorclaw off her back. With the ship plummeting erratically, it's a challenge to even remain on this thing, and she knows she needs to get OFF -- one way or another. Quite a few factors are on her mind...just as Razorclaw returns, and blows the side of the transport clean off, taking Arcee with the falling debris. However, just as fortune would have it, Arcee falls HARD on the roof of a building, nearly tumbling off before managing to skid to a stop on the edge. And from the edge, she glares daggers at the Predacon. "That all you got, creep??" she sneers, quickly targeting Razorclaw and letting him have it with both pistols. Combat: Arcee strikes Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> with her Dual Heavy Blaster Pistols attack! Blurr is watching the coordinates on his internal maps. Finally, he's reached the extraction point! He again retracts the glider and falls toward another large cargo transport, landing and rolling several times but not coming anywhere near the edge. This one is even larger than the last, and it crawls along at an excruciatingly slow pace. All the better for the extraction team. He opens another comm. <> As if on cue, the signal indicating that the traction beam has been activated lights up on his internal displays. <> he chuckles and hits the switch on his glider module. Oh, Soundwave's triumph over Solstice won't last for long! He ought to know, there were quite a few CST shipments in Crystal City airspace. The Decepticons are quite the demanding client. As he stands there reveling in his apparent victory over the fembot, one of those shuttles comes hurtling his way, tumbling and somersalting between the city's various skyways. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> strikes Soundwave with his Errant CST Shipment attack! Combat: Blurr uses up a charge on his Jimmy John's booster pack! Solstice's dual pistoled shot is enough to get Soundwave off of her.. and away. She falls onto her back, sucking in air like she'd been drowning. Both pistols are toast, bores melted back into the bodies, both are let loose as she struggles to get to her feet. "You jus' keep thinking' that, big-n-creepy.<> She turns, optics widening as he got much closer, much faster than her systems pinged. Optic calibration must be off is a half thought before she attempts a half-jump, doors locking behind her pointed downwards. Failing to time it to get out of the way of the fist to the face. Sent reeling backwards, optics gone black as systems hiccup, she brings an arm up only to take a body blow, which does double her over. The next sensation is not at all enjoyed, becoming airborne then...<> Doors are good things to have as they, in absorbing the impact, preserve the integrity of her master spinal channels. Still, she's in a new world, all weird hue of gray, master display showing new and interesting facts about the solidarity of her frame as a whole. <> She stays limp, allowing Soundwave to discard her like so much trash, free falling long enough to force her anti-grav online, attempting to use the traffic to obscure her flight upwards. Combat: Solstice sets her defense level to Protected. <'Autobot'> Solstice says, "I lost my glider....An... When did we loose technicolor?" Combat: Solstice takes extra time to steady herself. Pass Even as the femme is falling from being blasted off the ship Razorclaw is back in motion, leaping off his own and effectively parkour rappling between several craft as well before finally kicking off to launch himself into another free fall. Straight into Arcee's barrage of firepower, multiple shots slamming into his armor and splintering off chunks. One shot clips the base of one of his shoulder guns and knocks it off the hardpoint, smoking and useless now. But still he's coming down. Right on top of Arcee at high speed due to the dive from above, backed up by his bulk and leading the impact with those deadly claws of his. Combat: Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> strikes Arcee with his Terminal Velocity Pounce attack! Soundwave just LOOMS, staring over the side of the freighter at Solstice tumbling below. As good as dead. He's injured but the Tape CommaWHAMOHPRIMUSWHATTHEHELLJUSTHITME. A transport clocks into Soundwave as he actually took a moment to do something that might have actually have been INTERESTING TO OTHER PEOPLE, an actual charismatic moment, a moment of poise, of leadership, and all that is Decepticon. But none of that matters now, as he is going to have to be peeled off of that transport as it veers away into Crystal City, smashing into a building. That...that isn't a good way to end the day. Combat: Soundwave begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Solstice, Blast Off, Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'>, Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'>, Arcee, and Elita One Blast Off 's shot does indeed go wild, and fires down, down, far below.... and then somehow comes right back up at him. **POW**!!! Blast Off gets hit- /with his own ionic blaster shot./ And it /HURTS/. ....*SLAG*, is THAT what it's like to get hit with his own gun? He stumbles back, feeling even weaker than usual, gripping the large tear in his arm and torso. The Combaticon's frame gets wracked with another *HIC* and he stumbles back further. Finally getting his footing again, he stares at his gun, blinking, and turns it up to look at it. NO- not looking up the barrel- even in this state he's not *that* dumb. But... he just... stares at the thing like he hadn't really seen it before. Then drops it like it might shoot him again. Slag this all, he's had it for today. *HIC* And Arcee is literally falling apart, now. Pieces of her slagged armor are dropping off as she struggles frantically with the Predacon hellcat. Pieces of her armor are flying off with each painful shred of those deadly claws. But not once is she afraid, not once does she call for assistance...because as far as she's concerned, she can HANDLE this menace. This 'Con is in the bag. But...but how the FRAG is she going to rendezvous with the others? She hasn't thought that far ahead just yet. She's just trying to survive THIS moment, first. "Bet you didn't count on ME, did you," Arcee seethes as she struggles to gain the upper hand with this powerhouse. She knows a thing or two about hand-to-hand fighting, it seems...and at this point, the victor will be whomever can outsmart the other. She fights dirty, like a street fighter, punching and kicking and ripping off armor when she's able. And she hopes it's going to be enough to claim a victory. Combat: Arcee strikes Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> with her Melee Combat Expert attack! The polarus charge activates and Blurr is pulled up into the tractor beam. <> he notifies the rest of the team. <> He catches sight of Soundwave going down with one of those drones, and smirks with satisfaction. Yep, someone is definitely going to have to peel the Comms Officer off of that thing once it finally smashes into whatever unfortunate structure happens to be in its way. Now wouldn't that be great if it hit one of his -own- reflectors? Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Solstice's anti-gravs are keeping her aloft and assisting as she hops from transport to cargo-liner to taxi... Upwards and then into safety sweet safety.. She hits the floor and lies there, facedown.. Combat: Solstice begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> and Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> The impact was bad enough, despite how effective it was. But yet again Arcee manages to surprise the Predacon Commander with both fighting back, and the intensity that she does so despite her own injuries. A couple of blows and a good kick finally throw the beast off of her and into the rooftop foundation. With a grunt he rolls back onto his paws, but instead of attacking her directly just starts to pace slowly around Arcee, internally sending a message to the guards he was patrolling with before this fiasco started to conveine on his location. Then continues to just circle her. It's a predator thing. "Go ahead, Autobot. Make your move. Despite your shenannigans above you're on my turf now, and likely to swiftly be surrounded." Tail snaps a few times as he paces, though his gaze never leaves his foe. "Rest assured if you are felled here there won't be enough pieces left for your precious rebellion to drag away into the shadows this time...." Combat: Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> takes extra time to steady himself. Pass <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "Arcee, what's your status? We need to pull out." <'Autobot'> Arcee says, "On my way." Blast Off is still up on his transport, frowning under his faceplate at his gun and wondering if violence *really* ever solves anything...... Yeah, he's not himself. He'll feel more like himself in a day or two...... He hears a commotion down below and steps to the side of the transport. The Combaticon watches Arcee and Razorclaw fighting, but doesn't DO anything except rub at his sore arm. All this fighting is making him hungry. Hmm, perhaps he could interest Scorn in some enerwine and petro-cheese? *HIC*. <'Autobot'> Solstice mumbles, "Gonna have t' requisition new pistols. Mine.. er. lost 'em." Arcee pauses for a moment. She's hurting. A *LOT*. She watches Razorclaw...listens to Blurr on channel, and decides to NOPE the heck out of here. Because today's not a good day to die. "You know what?" she says, backing up to jump off the side of the roof and get gone, "It's been fun, but...I've got another appointment. Catch you later!" With that, she hops off the roof, transforms, and makes a cool exit! ...Actually, not so cool. Pieces are falling off, and one of those pieces was her muffler. So it's an embarassing exit. Arcee darts ahead to gracefully transform into her pink Cybertronian Tech Car, enging purring, ready to go! Stylish! Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <'Arcee'> begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Cybertronian Hovercar <'Blurr'> and Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> And there she goes. Aware that his own guns are damaged from the fighting the most Razorclaw can do is turn to the Decepticons troops that come to land on the rooftop just as Arcee is making her leap. "Don't just stand there, stop her!" Several run to the edge of the roof and open fire, but lets face it, these guys are nameless and thus aim as well as a bunch of stormtroopers. Once everyone has retreated to the extraction vessel, Blurr frowns at Arcee's injures. "You okay?" He asks, looking concerned. Though he isn't looking that great himself, either. "Yeah! That was great," Arcee answers Blurr with a grin. "How're you holding up?" Arcee's a bit surprised that she didn't get chastised for taking too long, but...it *was* kind of fun going toe-to-toe with that Predacon. She has a strange notion of fun, at times. Solstice doesn't even look up from her spot on the floor, remaining face planted. But she does mumble, "Glad y' got caught up.. ma'am." Blurr sits down for a much-needed rest, grinning. "Yeah, I have to say...it was fun watching Soundwave go splat against that drone shipment. Ha! Anyway I'll bet Razorclaw will think twice next time he goes up against a fembot, eh?" He chuckles, moving over to help Solstice off of the floor. "You did good." The pink Cybertronian tech car splits apart to reveal Curvy Autobot Warrior Arcee! She's ready to kick aft! Blast Off stands there, leaking energon onto the transport. It's making a terrible mess all over his paint job. Cracked heat shields, marred paint, ...ugh, right? He looks down at the mess... then shrugs, and goes back to admiring the scenery. *HIC* Ramjet has arrived. In the Autobot escape shuttle, Solstice slowly rolls to her feet, accepting the help. She wobbles, wincing as she rubs her face. "Thank y', sir." Checking her shoulder where the headlights busted. "I don't think 'stops fists with face' is a good nickname though." She slumps into a seat, leans back and darn near goes as floppy as a metal being can. "I lost my pistols... An.. I need.. a nap.." Arcee hugs Solstice very, very carefully. "You did good out there," she says proudly. Blast Off remains standing on a transport up in the sky, having watched the Autobots retreat. After shooting himself with his own gun thanks to an ill-timed *HICCUP*, he has dropped the offending gun and is wondering if violence really ever solves anything. ....Yeah, he's really not feeling like himself right now. Also, he's damaged and leaking energon all over, messing up his paint job.... and hasn't even bothered to really notice- or care. Blurr nods in agreement. "Yeah, you stood up to Soundwave, that was pretty impressive!" he compliments. He glances up at Stormer, who is piloting the vessel. "Barnstormer, take us to Iacon Medical." "Understood, sir!" He turns back to his team. "Oh, and you lived to tell about it, of course." Roaring into the area, Ramjet reverts from his plane mode into his robot mode. He flies with his hands out stretched. "Here, Blast Off! Here, boy! It is your assassin...err friend Ramjet! I've come to drag you back to Darkmount where the medics will cut into you and torture you...errr...fix you." Spying Blast Off on his radar, Ramjet flies towards his Commander and lands on the Transport. "Now, am I gonna have to knock you out and drag you back? Or you gonna behave, and I only need to smack you around a little, Commander Blast Off?" Solstice ow-ow-ows... but offers a thin smile. "We weren't done yet." She looks down at her fairly mangled self, "Yeah.. Close.. Not sure why plug-unglee came my way but.. glad t' help an. live.." pause, "Is that really a thing with'em?" Blast Off is still staring down at the city far below. Everyone kind of looks like little petro-ants from up here. Scurrying about.... Still dripping energon, he finally looks up to Ramjet. "Greetings!" Completely (and very oddly) unperturbed by anything Ramjet just said, he simply shakes his head and waves his hand slightly. "Oh, no. No, that won't be neccessary! Though did you want to fly WITH me, or were you thinking you'd ride in my cargo bay? I don't mind, either way. Whatever is convenient." He goes back to looking down below. "Have you ever noticed how small everyone looks from up here? I mean... not small... but... well, fragile. It almost makes you think how life can be so.... frgaile." He shakes his head, almost sadly. *HIC* Arcee is very, very quiet for the remainder of the trip. She remains standing, but it might be because her leg's too messed up to sit down. Staring at Blast Off, Ramjet blinks. "I. Wait, what?" Ramjet strokes his chin. "If I ride in your Cargo Hold, can I hit the horn and yell, 'My Decepticons Attack!'?" Ramjet says to Blast Off, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Life is like a flower, all delicate and smells and dies. Maybe this War is Existential Hell, and blah blah blah blah." Ramjet raises a fist, "FOCUS! The Horn and Can I shout, 'My Decepticons Attack!'" Battle Lion <'Razorclaw'> has slunk off to lick his wounds by this point. Figuratively speaking. Blast Off just stares serenely back at the Seeker. All the Combaticon's usual haughty huffiness seems to have evaporated... for now. He considers Ramjet's request, tapping at his faceplate thoughtfully. "Well... I don't... know. I..." he startles a bit as Ramjet yells "FOCUS!" then blinks and looks at the Seeker "Eh. "Existential Hell" can be cut short all too soon, can't it? We never know when we might simply... cease to function. One stray shot coming up to..." He pauses and looks back down to the ground far below where his own shot had hit a mirror and reflected back up to shoot him. "....Give us a bad day." Glancing to Ramjet, he shrugs. "Oh, why not! Eat your spark out!" Lifts his hand, preparing to backhand Blast Off while he yammers on about Existential Hell, "Ugh, you and Dirge. All this moping and grousing about Existential Hell. Look, sometimes to live, somethings Megatron cuts off your head and rips out your laser core as a sign to others." Ramjet then lowers his hand. "Really? Let us do this!" Ramjet steps back. "Blast Off, TRANSFORM!" Blast Off blinks at Ramjet in surprise, stepping back a little as the Seeker barks a command. "Oh... uh..." He looks behind him. At the very last minute remembering his weapon still lying a little distance away, he raises an index finger. "One moment!" Then hurries over to grab it, trailing energon all the way. Then he takes some steps back towards Ramjet and stops. This looks like a good spot, and won't be in the Seeker's way after he transforms. Which he then does, opening his cargo bay door so Ramjet can climb up and in. There is some crystal shard debris from Razorclaw's earlier ride still inside. With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Hoping into Blast Off, Ramjet smiles as he looks at the debris, "Hmmmmm, might be valuable." Ramjet pockets a few of the larger fragments as he slips into Blast Off's Command Center. He then pushes the horn button, over and over and over again! "DECEPTICONS RETREAT!" Ramjet shrieks out like you know who, he then throws his hands over his mouth, "Mmhmhmhmhphphhmm!' He curses through his hands, before lowering them. "To Darkmount Blast Off! Take the long way!" Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> 's voice comes over the comm speaker, sounding quite... pleasant. <> As Ramjet heads into the Command Center, a place the shuttle usually protects from ANY intrusion whatsoever (besides perhaps Onslaught) at *all costs*... he just opens doors and hatches ever-so-helpfully to help the Seeker on his way. Once there, he lets Ramjet yell and honk and... whatever. The Combaticon doesn't mind the noise or mess. For once. Ramjet is going to be hearing all about this later, you can be sure. But for now.... <> Off they Go, making noise and trailing energon and bits of heat shields all the merry way! Woohoo! *HIC*